It was arguably the pinnacle of his golfing career, when Rich Beem lifted his first Major title at the USPGA at Hazeltine in Chaska, Minnesota in the fall of 2002.
Having won on tour for the first time only two weeks prior to starting his 4th Major Championship, Beem came into the tournament with an outside chance at best.
What would unfold over the next 4 days, is up there with one of the greatest ever performances in a Major Championship to date.
Head-to-head with Tiger Woods
Beem began the week solidly, positioning himself within striking distance after the first two rounds.
His aggressive style began paying off during Saturday’s third round when he surged up the leaderboard with a five-under-par 67. That round put him in contention heading into Sunday, where he would tee off in the final group.
The final round was a showcase of nerves, talent, and resilience. Beem started strong, but it is fair to say that all eyes were on Tiger Woods, who was attempting to win his 3rd straight PGA Championship and 8th major overall.
Woods mounted one of his trademark late charges, shooting a brilliant back-nine 31 to post a final-round 67 and finish at -9 for the tournament. Beem, playing just behind, was well aware of Woods’ surge, as roars from the gallery echoed across the course.
But rather than wilt under pressure, Beem delivered what is widely considered one of the gutsiest shots in Major Championship history. On the 16th hole – a long par 3 – he drained a 35ft birdie putt, extending his lead and momentarily quieting the crowd.
Then, on the par-4 17th, he followed with a crucial par save. On the final hole, Beem held his nerve, knocking in a putt for par to finish with a final-round 68 and a total score of -10, 278—one shot clear of Woods.
Speaking to Sky Sports in 2022, on the 20th anniversary of his win, Beem said:
“I was probably in one of the best spaces I’d ever been in, even before arriving at the PGA Championship, as I had just won The International earlier that month and everything in my world was fantastic.
My golf was good, I was recently married, and I felt on top of the world to be completely honest. Everything outside the game was going well and it was feeling free and easy inside the ropes.
I started the final round three back and I was so nervous over that first tee shot, although that was more down to excitement than anything else! I couldn’t wait to get started and ripping driver was almost a decompression of everything that had been building up for me since my third round finished.”
“I’ve said this a thousand times, but I wasn’t thinking about Tiger Woods to be fair – probably because I didn’t want to! It’s hard enough to win a tournament doing what you’re doing, but when you start thinking about someone else’s game and what they can potentially do, then you’ve got no chance.
I truly didn’t really consider Tiger until it was all said and done and was like ‘phew, that was fun!’, especially after he birdied those last four holes at me. I had a massive lead going to the 14th tee box and then suddenly was left mentally and physically exhausted by the time we had finished!”
Shot Scope Ambassador
Earlier this year we were delighted to welcome Beem to Shot Scope as an official Shot Scope Ambassador.
Rich uses the Shot Scope V5 GPS watch to track every shot he hits on the golf course, as well as having precise GPS yardages to every green and hazard, on any of the 36,000 preloaded golf courses worldwide.
When Rich is looking to attack the pin, he uses the Shot Scope PRO ZR rangefinder, our most durable and fastest-firing rangefinder to date.
So, if you want to learn your game and improve your scoring, who better to take advice from than a Major Champion?
